The decision of Sony PlayStation to scrap physical discs in January 2028 stirred global headlines last week and has caused a huge online backlash against the brand.
Sony, however, does not appear to be backing down from this. Today, noted industry insider Jason Schreier has shared new information about the future of physical formats on PlayStation.
He indicates Sony considers that its digital player base is already large enough to do without those who continue buying games in physical format.
A big part of this comes down revenue – when a first-party physical game costing $70 is sold via a retailer, the latter gets $21 of the sale price. There’s also about $3.50 in manufacturing cost for the disc – in other words, $24.50 is lost automatically.
Thus, Sony’s revenue from a first-party release is $45.50 for a physical copy, and $70 for a digital copy. When it’s a third-party release, the numbers drop lower – the third-party publisher will get $35 for a physical, $49 for the digital (Sony’s cut is $10.50 and $21 respectively).
Thus Sony is highly incentivised to move to digital. The company is not expected to change its retail distribution model: stores will continue selling boxes, but these will only include a download code.
Other reports suggest Sony is convinced most players will ultimately accept the transition to a 100% digital ecosystem and will continue supporting PlayStation even without the option to buy physical games.
Sources: Noticias PlayStation
